What references are in HERO?

HERO contains references used or considered by NCEA scientists
in the development of scientific assessments. Although historically, not all
assessments created by NCEA have their references entered in HERO, all references
from new assessments will be included in HERO.

How do I get a copy of a journal article?

Most journal article entries in HERO have a link to a DOI
(Digital Object Identifier)
. This link will direct you to a journal or
publisher website. If the article is free to the public, or you have a subscription
to the journal, you can download the PDF. If not, you will usually be offered
an option to purchase the individual article. Please note: Copyright laws prohibit
distribution of copyrighted material.

What other types of documents are in HERO? How do I get copies of those?

Reports, books, book chapters, conference material, and other miscellaneous
reference types are included if they were used in the assessment development
process. Some of these references provide links to an internet site where the
material can be downloaded or purchased.

How do I request an additional reference be added to HERO?

When was HERO created and why?

HERO launched in March, 2009. It
contains data from a number of legacy databases used by NCEA -- both digital
and paper. EPA is making these references available to the public in the interest
of greater transparency and public accountability.

How do I search for more than one author in the same
reference?

What are the blue links in the assessment documents?

Increasingly, we are
producing our published assessments with links back to the reference in HERO.
Clicking on a link - which contains the HERO ID - will open up your browser window
and take you right to the details for that reference!

How do I create a list of references?

After conducting a search in HERO, you will
be presented with a list of results. Select the references you want in your
list by clicking the box next to each reference. Click the "Create Bibliography" button
to produce your list.

How does the EPA decide what references to use for its scientific
decisions?

What do you mean by the HERO "Database System"?

At its core, HERO is a database for references used in NCEA's scientific
assessments. Other components of the HERO Database System help scientists with
literature searches, reference classification, and document production.

How frequently is the database updated?

What are future plans for HERO development?

We are in the process of adding features to HERO that will show
information extracted from the most relevant studies used by the various scientific
disciplines. You will be able to search and produce reports on these studies
both individually and across similar studies.